Allergies
by Uphill Both Ways
Summary: On one hand, he hated them. On the other, they saved his life. Shizaya.


"A-hahh-ah_choo_!"

Izaya cursed his sinuses for what seemed like the fiftieth time that afternoon. He was light-headed, congested, and his eyes burned like _crazy_ and it was all because he was a genius who didn't feel the need to take his allergy medication. Izaya may be above humanity, but he sure wasn't immune to their ailments. Wiping at the stinging at the corners of his eyes, the informant resolved to make a quick stop at the convenience store before anyone noticed his vulnerability. It wasn't likely that anyone would be paying _that_ much attention to the illusive man anyway—but Izaya never liked to take chances he wasn't absolutely sure of.

So that's why, on his way back to his office, Izaya stopped at a convenience store he'd never bothered to visit before—and just in time too, actual _tears_ had started to graze his cheeks. Izaya wiped at his nose once more, with an unsatisfying sniff, and reached for the door to store. But as his hand came in contact with the cold metal handle—

A vice-grip hand latched onto Izaya's shoulder and a familiar voice sent a shiver down his spine. He blamed his allergies for that, too.

"IIIIIIIIzaaaaayaaaaa-kuuuuun, what brings _you_ here?" The falsely sweet voice inquired, venom hung from every syllable and Izaya had to stop himself from making a smart remark.

Shizuo, quite frankly, had been pissed off. So far all day there had been no one to release his rage on (there was a surprising lack of uncooperative morons to deal with for Tom) which meant that his pent-up energy bordered on anxiety. Luckily, before the blond had taken it out on some unsuspecting civilian or city structure, he'd caught sight of the fur-lined coat of the flea.

"Oh, Shizu-chan, what a lovely surprise."

"I thought I told you to get the _fuck_ _out_ of Ikebukuro," Shizuo spat, glaring at the back of Izaya's head.

"When have I _ever_ listened to you before?" He had a point.

"Again, _why are you here_?"

"I missed you."

"Bullshit."

What pissed him off _now_, was that Izaya seemed to be refusing to face him.

Resisting the irritating itch of a sniffle, Izaya focused on some unknown point of the door. Of course, with his luck, Shizuo would just happen to show up and ruin his get-in-get-out plan. His shoulder throbbed as Shizuo's hand went white-knuckled. Shizuo felt the last drop of what little patience he had dissolve.

The brunette's eyes widened as he felt Shizuo's arm propel him around in a circle and the rough fingers re-attach themselves to the front of his throat while he made one last vain attempt at wiping away his tears. Unfortunately, just before the blond's other fist connected with Izaya's face, he _did_ notice. Involuntarily, Izaya sniffed and more shimmering, salty drops escaped from his burning eyes and he felt his face flush with humiliation.

"Izaya…are you _crying_?"

Dumbfounded, Shizuo was sure that he should be _laughing_, but the shock of it all made the impulse to _comfort_ his enemy gnaw at the back of his mind.

"No-_sniff_-ahh, moron," Izaya tried to explain, but Shizuo's hand was barely loosening on his already constricting throat, and it took effort to _breath_. In all honesty, Izaya was pleasantly surprised that Shizuo hadn't (yet) started laughing or mocking him about it and his face was still intact.

"Oh _really_. Then what's-" Shizuo's thumb brushed over Izaya's left eye, catching a tear "-this?" The blond raised a brow, waiting for an answer.

Izaya's gaze shot around, looking anywhere but at Shizuo, and making sure that no one saw what was going on outside of the convenience store. The situation was rather inconvenient.

"Well if you would _kindly_ stop strangling me, I _might_ just be able to tell you," Izaya wheezed challengingly, finally meeting Shizuo's eyes with force. Shizuo's grip slipped off altogether, and Izaya's hands immediately went to his eyes, rubbing away the unwanted wetness, and at the same time he palmed the cool metal of his flick blade in a way Shizuo didn't notice.

Amusement was visible in Shizuo's eyes, and something else Izaya didn't care to put a finger on, so in a split second he had the serrated edge of his knife resting threateningly at the jugular of Shizuo's throat. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to," Izaya smirked despite the return of burning in his eyes. He was not going to just _submit_ to Shizuo, _ever_.

Anger began to flare again in the pit of Shizuo's stomach since the blond knew he should've expected such a move from Izaya. Turning the tables and before the blade made a shallow trail across his chest, Shizuo grabbed Izaya's wrist in one hand, ripped off the door to the convenience store with another, and was about to send both crashing against each other—

When those goddamn _tears_ appeared again.

Izaya had been ready—hell, Izaya had been _relieved_ when he saw the familiar rage flicker in Shizuo's eyes and the man start to take action. He _foolishly_ thought that it would be like nothing ever happened, and another battle would play out where they both walked away with a few scars—then the next thing Izaya knows is that Shizuo has dropped the door and moved his hand to Izaya's waist, pulling the informant up against him. The next thing Izaya realizes, is that he's dropped his blade.

The hand that previously held Izaya's wrist was hooked around the man's shoulders, the other still wrapped around Izaya's waist, and Izaya's head was buried in the crook of Shizuo's neck. Slowly, tentatively, Izaya's fingers gripped onto the back of Shizuo's shirt, half-tugging to get the blond off and half-clinging onto the unfamiliar warmth. The awkward embrace lasts for moments—minutes—hours, time was as jumbled as the rest of their thoughts, until Izaya spoke up;

"Shizu-chan. People are staring."

The slight wake-up call startled Shizuo, who drew back immediately in the uncomfortable moment, scratching the back of his neck absently. Izaya, as any reputable and classy gentleman would do, immediately took off running in the opposite direction—convenience store and medication forgotten.  
Slightly dazed and confused, Shizuo turned around to meet the curious eyes of onlookers, who instantly acted as if nothing happened. Trying to sort out all that just transpired, Shizuo began walking back to Tom's office, unsure of his original intentions for coming to the convenience store in the first place, and trying not to think about the fact that he just hugged the _loathed_ _flea_.

Some distance off, Izaya's lungs cried for air and his nose was enflamed, but he still kept moving, if only because he was still trying to convince himself that Shizuo's odd behavior disgusted him. That's the only way to explain the fluttering uneasiness in his stomach, right? Finally meeting a slower pace, he felt the tingling burn of tears again.

Izaya told himself it was the allergies.

* * *

**A/N: I've got no excuse. :C**

**This is the only way I'd ever see Izaya crying.**


End file.
